Stark's Daughter
by AmaratheSlytherin
Summary: Hermione Granger's father is not who she thought it was, instead it was a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist named Tony Stark. This is going to be a strange adventure.
1. Chapter 1

"Mum, don't leave me, please."

"Hermione, I'll be right back, I have to find your father." She said swiftly and unbuckled the seatbelt and walked down the aisle, leaving her 13-year-old daughter alone.

"Mum!" Hermione screamed after her just as the Captain started yelling brace. Hermione tucked her chin onto her chest and curled into a ball protecting her head whilst the Captain continued to yell brace through the mic.

. . . .

"Hermione's been in an accident." Arthur said rushing into the kitchen. "One of those plane things."

"Oh, how is she?"

"She's alive, beyond that much, I don't know."

"What happened?" Harry asked as he entered the room and saw the worried looks on Mr and Mrs Weasley's face.

. . . .

"Her parents died in the crash, call her next of kin." The man said.

"That's the thing, sir, her next of kin is Tony Stark."

"Call him, that's the only person listed."

"If you insist, sir."

. . . .

"Yeah?" Tony said answering the phone.

"Um, Mr Stark?"

"Yeah, speaking?"

"My name is Doctor Cooper and I am with the Royal London Hospital, one of our patients has you listed as the Next of Kin?"

"Hermione?" Tony asked, fear flooding through his body. "What happened, is she okay?"

"She was in a plane crash, sir. Her parents didn't make it. Currently, she is asleep, but we feel she will awaken soon."

"I want her medical file sent to me…"

"Sir, we can't do that."

"I am her father, JARVIS, send them proof, and then get me everything on her, move her to a private room, the best care available."

"Of course, sir." The machine replied in his British accent.

"Dr Cooper, I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm organising a plane over as we speak." Tony said and left the Doctor in the non-existent hands of JARVIS.

Tony was in a panic; he had been fighting with Hermione's mother and step-father over custody for the last year or so. He had known he had a daughter since Hermione was five years old, but her mother didn't want him in her life, and he stupidly agreed.

"Pepper." Tony called and his girlfriend walked into the room holding a stack of papers.

"Yes, Tony?"

"Cancel everything…."

"Tony, you can't just cancel everything."

"Hermione was in a plane crash, Daniel and Emma didn't make it. She has no other family and I'm her father."

"You're taking custody of her?"

"Yes, she's my daughter and my responsibility. She's asleep at some London hospital. JARVIS, what hospital was it again?"

"The Royal London Hospital, sir." JARVIS piped in.

"Okay, I will cancel everything for the next month, tell me if you need more after you've been there for a while. Are you going to transfer her, or leave her at the hospital?"

"We all know Stark medicine is better than any modern hospital can do, she deserves the best. I want to take her back to the Malibu house and get her treated there, but that would also be taking her away from any friends she has, and I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Well, you can access Stark medicine from anywhere, so if she wants to stay with a friend, why not stay in London for a while. Also, what about her schooling?"

"Fancy Boarding School up in Scotland, I hated the idea, but I couldn't dissuade them."

"What if she wants to continue there because of her friends?"

"I don't know what I'd do, but I hate Boarding Schools, and I don't want her in one." Tony sighed softly, "But, she's old enough to make her own decisions, and I guess I have to support that."

"Tony, you know you're a father, but gaining visitation rights is a lot different to caring for an actual teenager."

"I know, which is exactly why I'm asking you to come with me, Pepper. I could use the help."

"Alright, let's go meet your daughter."

. . . .

Pepper and Tony stepped into the Royal London Hospital 11 hours later. Tony walked over to the waiting nurse.

"Um, I'm here to see Hermione Granger, I'm her Next of Kin." He explained.

"Fourth floor, turn left at the lift and in room 112. You may want to talk to one of the doctors in that ward first."

"Thank you." Tony said and followed the woman's instructions and eventually arrived in the waiting area. "Excuse me, I'm here about Hermione Granger?" He said to one of the nurses.

"I'll go get Doctor Cooper for you, sir."

"Mr Stark?" An older female doctor asked.

"Yes, that's me."

"I'm Doctor Cooper, Hermione already has some friends here, two are currently in her room with her as we only allow two at a time."

"What happened?"

"The plane crashed pretty much as soon as it took off. Mr Granger was walking around apparently, then Mrs Granger left to get him as the plane started malfunctioning. Hermione stayed in her seat with her seatbelt on and braced."

"So, they weren't in a seat or had their seatbelts on?"

"No, they did not. Only five people died in the crash, the rest survived."

"What are her injuries?" Tony asked.

"Her left arm is broken in two places, her humerus and radius. She couldn't reach the back of the seat to rest her head, so she has a bump on the right side of her head which has caused a concussion, but that has been dealt with. We do plan to take her to an MRI to make sure that she doesn't have any injuries internally, including swelling to the brain and internal bleeding. She also dislocated her right shoulder, but that has already been dealt with. She was incredibly lucky to have so few injuries."

"Can I go see her now?"

"Of course, she's still sleeping at the moment, but she should awaken soon. I'll go with you, there are currently two people in there with her."

"Thank you." Tony said as they made their way to Hermione's room. Dr. Cooper knocked on the door and opened it to reveal his daughter on the bed asleep. There was a plump woman with bright orange hair and a young boy with black hair and green eyes.

"Hello, Hermione's next of kin is here…"

"Can I stay? She's my best friend." The boy asked.

"I have no problem with that." Tony said softly and Pepper nodded.

"I'll go get some food for everyone."

"Thanks Pepper."

"I'll help." The other woman said and went out with Pepper and the doctor shut the door and left them alone.

"So, um, who are you?" The boy asked.

"Tony Stark." Tony said smirking softly as the boy recognised the name.

"The billionaire?"

"Um, yeah. And you?"

"Harry Potter, I'm her best friend from school."

"Right, well, um…I'm her father." Tony said softly.

"Her father? What about Dan?"

"They were married afterwards. Hermione doesn't know. I've been fighting for visitation rights for the last year, she only knows me as Uncle Tony."

Harry looked at the man in surprise. "I'm glad she still has family who care for her." Harry said as Pepper walked in with a coffee cup and handed it to Tony and a bottle of water to Harry who thanked her.

"How is she?" Pepper asked

"Still sleeping. Did Dr. Cooper say anything else?"

"She wants to take Hermione for an MRI sooner rather than later, even if she's still asleep."

"It would probably be for the best; MRIs are not fun to do when awake."

"Okay, I'll tell her to take Hermione as soon as its free." Pepper said and left the room.

"So, what's she like?" Tony asked and Harry smiled softly.

"She's a genius, smartest person I know. She loves the library and learning anything she can. She's kind and loyal and hates anyone suffering, including animals. She can be bossy, but she genuinely cares when she does it. Like bossing about homework is because she doesn't want us to fail. She's compassionate and is always there for you when you need her."

"Sounds like a good kid." Tony admitted.

"So, did she get the genius thing from you?"

"Heard about me, have you?"

"Well, you're pretty famous, no offence sir."

"Please don't call me sir, it's Tony."

"Right, um, Tony. Is it true that you're Iron Man?" Harry couldn't help himself from asking, he groaned internally knowing he was being like the people he hated.

Tony grinned. "Yeah. I was kidnapped and it was my only chance to get out of there alive. So when I came back home, I perfected it."

The door banged open to show a whole gaggle of red heads. "Why are you claiming to be her father, we knew her father, it's not you."

"Mrs Weasley…" Harry started.

"It's okay, kid. I am her father, I found out when she was younger and was refused visitation rights, I agreed knowing I wouldn't be good for her. I changed my mind last year and have been fighting ever since."

"You cannot be her father! You can't just show up here and pretend. I don't care how much money you have."

"Look, I don't know who you are, but I've done paternity tests and everything, and her mother and step-father knew about me. Whilst I didn't react the best to knowing I had a daughter I've wanted her in my life for a very long time now." Tony raised his voice and glared at the woman."

"You couldn't take responsibility for her when she was a child, what makes you think you can now. You have no rights to her."

"I am her legal guardian…"

"Why are you all shouting?" A new voice asked, and Tony looked down at the bed to see Hermione awake and looking at them all.

"Hermione, are you okay? How do you feel?" Tony asked quickly.

"Um, okay for the most part, I'm a bit thirsty."

"I'll get you a drink and Dr. Cooper." Pepper said and left the room.

"Thanks." Hermione said, her voice still gravelly. "So, uh, why are you fighting?" She asked and Mrs Weasley grunted her annoyance.

"This man is claiming to be your father and your new guardian."

"Why would I need a new guardian?"

Tony sat down in the chair again and Harry held Hermione's good hand. "Hermione, do you remember how you were in a plane crash?" He asked gently and she nodded. "Well, they didn't make it…" Tony started.

"No." Hermione said softly.

"Hermione, I'm really sorry." Harry said softly.

"No!" She shouted. "They can't, they were right there, how could they not be here. No." She said angrily. Pepper walked back into the room with an older woman. Pepper got Hermione some water and a straw and held it for her whilst she sipped at it.

"It's good to see you awake, how are you feeling?" The Doctor asked.

"Are my parents really gone?" Hermione asked, ignoring the Doctor's question.

Dr. Cooper sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't lie to you. Yes, they're really both gone. They weren't wearing their seatbelts or in seats at all." She confirmed and Hermione just sat there, her face showing no emotion, not looking at anyone. "I'll come back later." Dr Cooper said, and Tony nodded.

"But, I was right next to them." She whispered.

"Hermione, I am sorry for everything."

"Mrs Weasley said you were my guardian now, why?"

"Well, I really shouldn't give you more shocking news in a row, but my name is Tony Stark and I'm your father."

Hermione looked at the man in shock with a mixture of anger. "I think I need to talk to you alone." She said angrily.

Tony looked anxious, but he knew it needed to be done. He nodded softly and looked to the gaggle of Weasley's who left the room with a click of the door. Harry sighed. "I'm glad to see you awake, Mione. Don't be too harsh on him, it's obvious he cares for you. He hasn't left the room since he got here. Good luck, sir." He said and left the room.

The man in front of her claiming to be her father sighed and sagged into a nearby chair. Hermione looked him over for several moments. He looked tired, there were prominent bags underneath his eyes, like he didn't get much sleep. According to Harry he hadn't left her since he arrived. He had the same eyes that she recognised as her own, the same messy hair, the same intelligence. It was clear that this wasn't a shock to him though, that he had known for a long time that she was his daughter.

"So…" She started a little testily, and he looked up at her. "When did you find out about me? Because it looks like you've known for a while." Hermione accused.

"Well…uh, you'd be right about that." He replied, dragging one of his callused hands through his brown locks as he glanced down at his shoes. "You were five years old when I was first told about you." He admitted and that just made Hermione angrier. Why didn't he want to know her, why did it take so long for him to show up?

"Okay, then why haven't I known about you since I was five? Why has it taken for my parents to die for you to appear?" Hermione said angrily, her voice rising.

Tony looked guilty for a few moments before sighing. "I contacted Emma the moment I found out about you." He swore. "I promise I did. I wasn't ready for the responsibility, of course, I was immature and far preferred drinking to doing anything else. She told me that whilst I was your biological father, I wasn't your father. She said that your dad was Daniel and you didn't need nor want me in your life. We argued about it for a long time, but eventually I agreed with her. I was young and stupid and not ready for the responsibility of taking care of another person, heck, I could barely take care of myself. I provided money so you could have the best education, and for anything you needed or wanted. I gave you presents on every Christmas and Birthday, but you were told they were from Uncle Tony." Tony told her.

"You're Uncle Tony?" Hermione asked remembering the beautiful and expensive gifts he had gotten her, and the times she spoke with him on the phone.

"Yeah, they gave me photos and videos of you growing up, and I got a phone call from you every once in a while. Basically, I didn't fight it. I did what was easy for me, I still had some semblance in your life, but I wasn't the parent. It was what was easy, but I wanted more."

"Why did my parents not what you to see me and be a part of my life?" Hermione asked softly.

"I don't really know, but I was this rich, drinking, womaniser who made the papers for all the wrong reasons. Every bad decision and choice I've ever made has probably made its way into the paper. After all, being one of the richest people has its drawbacks, the paparazzi are like demons. I don't know their exact reasons, but that certainly had to play a part of it."

"You said you wanted more? What do you mean by that?"

"I wanted to meet you. I wanted to see you in person, I wanted you to know that I was your father. You may have heard I was abducted in Afghanistan?"

"Oh yeah, it was big news." Hermione said absentmindedly.

"Well, it changed me deeply in a lot of ways. I was no longer satisfied with photos and occasional videos and phone calls. I wanted to know you. The last year I've been fighting about that with your parents, fighting for visiting rights, rights for you to know who I am."

"Why? Why go to all of that trouble for me?"

"Because you're my daughter and I wanted to get to know you as a person. I don't have any family, Hermione, you are the last of what I've got left and after everything I've been to, I wanted for you to know me. You are important to me."

Hermione believed him, she knew liars and this man wasn't lying, he was being overly honest to her, and she knew Daniel wasn't her father. She always loved talking to Uncle Tony because he was smart, and he understood what she rambled about without telling her to stop because it bored him. Apparently, they were alike in other ways apart from their eyes and hair.

"What happened? I don't really remember much." Hermione said softly, picking apart her grey waffle blanket.

"You and your parents were in a plane from London to Paris, something about a summer vacation? Well, it was only a small plane, and something happened on the flight, they still haven't figured it out and it went down near London."

"How many people were on board?" Hermione asked softly.

"108."

"How many died?

"Five."

"Both my mum and my dad, well, I guess he isn't my…"

"Yes, I am very sorry Hermione."

"It happened so fast." She whispered. "Dad hates flying and so as soon as he could, his seat belt was off and he was walking around to calm down. When it started going down, we couldn't see him. Mum went to find him, that's the last I saw them."

"They say it was because they weren't wearing their seatbelts. The pilot was good, it could have been much worse. I know it's a bit of a shock, how do you feel?"

"Numb? Is that an answer, I don't really think it's hit me yet." She admitted.

"The first stages of grief are shock and denial." Tony said and Hermione nodded.

"So, you're my father?" Hermione asked and Tony smiled.

"Yeah, I have the paternity tests and everything if you're interested."

"What's the plan? Are you taking me back to America?"

"How about you get better first and then we'll talk?" Tony suggested.

"Well, I guess there's a few things you need to be told if you're going to be my guardian."

"Like what?"

"It's complicated." Hermione admitted just as there was a knock on the door and Dr. Cooper entered the room.

"Mr Stark, we need you to fill in some forms for her MRI."

"Oh, um, sure. I'll just be a few moments. Do you want anyone to come in?"

"Harry and Mrs Weasley, please." Hermione said and Tony nodded and left the room with Dr. Cooper and the two requested people came in.

"I can obliviate him if you want, Hermione." Mrs Weasley offered.

"He's my father, and my only living relative. And he seems nice."

"What are you going to do about Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"That's exactly why I wanted you two here. We need to tell him, and we need to tell him soon."

"I'll contact Minerva, she is normally the one who explains magic to the muggles."

"He's American, if he goes back there and takes me, I won't be able to attend Hogwarts." Hermione said.

"What?!" Harry asked in alarm.

"No, dear, you won't."

"I don't know if I can convince him to live here." Hermione said softly.

"I'll floo Minerva immediately."

"Thank you Mrs Weasley." Hermione said softly.

'Get better, dear." She replied and left the room.

"Harry, I'll try and convince him to stay in London."

"Hermione, you're one of my best friends in the entire world, but what can I say to convince you to leave England?"

"What? Harry, you can't do that."

"I kinda can, Mione. And if I can't convince you, I'm pretty sure convincing Mr Stark will be much easier."

"Why?"

"Because it's too dangerous. Hermione, you've nearly died 3 times in 2 years at Hogwarts." Harry said and Hermione thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure those accidents wouldn't happen at the American school, whatever it's called. You were petrified for two months, if a pureblood was petrified their parents wouldn't have made them stay petrified for a week, let alone two months. Britain is too bigoted, you have to admit, I don't think you'd be treated like that in America. Also, I think it's just going to get worse; we know he's out there and he's targeting me, meaning you're always going to be in danger. Hermione, you're my best friend and I love you, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're pushing me away, Harry, you need your friends."

"I know, but I love my friends, particularly you, Mione. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt again. We'll always be friends, even if you attend the American School. But if you stay with me you're pretty much guaranteed to be hurt again."

"But I can help you defeat him, Harry."

"Even if I do defeat him, he's not the only problem, Mione. The entire government and country is. I don't think we can stamp out that much bigotry and hatred. You know what that means. Even though you'll graduate at the top of our class, you'll still find it hard to get a job because of that bigotry. It runs deep within this country."

"Harry…"

"Hermione, I'm only here because I have to be, but after I defeat him, I'm leaving Britain as well. I can't stand the way they talk down to people, how they hurt creatures and animals. I'm staying because Dumbledore and the Dursleys wouldn't let me leave, but when I'm seventeen, I'm leaving. They can clean up their own messes. You can get out now, so please do it, or I'll tell Mr Stark everything, even the bits that you didn't tell your parents."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, get out while you can, Mione."

"But what about you? I can't just leave you."

"It'll be hard without you, but it just means I'll have to focus more on my studies. I can do it, I know I can. I was thinking about changing my electives to Runes and Arithmancy and CoMC. Ron will hate it, but I need to do it."

"I can't agree to this."

"I know, you think you're betraying me, but you're not Hermione. I promise. I'll even get us those mirror things so we can talk whenever we want. And, when I'm seventeen, I'm coming to America."

Hermione thought about it and had to concede that Harry had very good points. She sighed. "I'll talk to Professor McGonagall and him when we have that talk."

"That's all I can ask of you, Mione." He said as there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, kiddo, they're taking you to the MRI now, is that okay?"

"That's fine, thanks…um…"

"You can call me Tony for now." He said with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony sat in the waiting room with the gaggle of red heads whilst Hermione was taking her MRI. "So, um, Mrs Weasley, was it?"

"Yes." She said sharply.

"Um, what school does Hermione go to? Emma and Dan only told me it was a prestigious Boarding School up in Scotland. I found her Primary school records and she did very well on all subjects, but I haven't seen anything since."

Mrs Weasley's face softened slightly. "I've invited one of the Professors over to talk about her schooling with you. Professor McGonagall should be here after Hermione's MRI. She'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Oh, um, thank you for organising that."

"You're welcome, now what do you do for a job?" She asked and Tony smirked, clearly the woman had never heard of him, and he found that refreshing.

"I'm an engineer and inventor. My father started a company up during world war 2 and gave it to me when he died. One day, Hermione will inherit it as well, that is if Hermione wants it."

"What kind of things do you invent?" Arthur asked, suddenly curious.

"Um, well I'm very good with technology, I've modernised many computers and smart phones, I've also created several Artificial Intelligence computers, such as JARVIS."

"Hello Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley." A new voice said.

"Sorry, that was JARVIS, he kinda scares people who aren't used to him."

"Jarvis?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Yeah, it's an acronym. It stands for Just a rather very intelligent system. It's the best I could come up with. I've also come up and advanced medical scanners for people with incurable diseases to help their everyday life." Tony finished and Mrs Weasley glanced at Harry who nodded at her.

"Mr Stark? I am the radiographer that handled Miss Granger's MRI. We've just finished and she's coming back now. All in all, there's nothing serious in the MRI scan. We were mostly worried about her head and any potential internal bleeding. Whilst she did hit her head in the accident, that mostly seemed to be superficial. There was nothing abnormal about her brain, we were expecting swelling or something, but it seems she is incredibly lucky. We also scanned her stomach to check for internal bleeding, but after she woke up and was alert and even talked with you all, I doubted she had internal bleeding, but it was good to double check."

"So, all she has now is her broken arm and the bump on her head?" Tony clarified.

"Yes, it seems she was incredibly lucky."

"Thank you Jade." Dr Cooper said.

"Anything else?" Tony asked.

"We are redoing her x-rays on her left arm. The first pair were right afterward and the humerus wasn't coming together as neatly as we'd hoped. Now she has a cast on, we want to see if that has changed to any degree. If not, she might need surgery to compensate for that. She did complain of pain in the MRI, but I think it's worse than what she's letting on." Dr Cooper told him.

"Sounds like Hermione." Harry said softly.

"Breaking the humerus is a horrid injury and not as easily fixed as the broken radius. It is painful and debilitating, particularly with how severe Hermione's is broken. I'll let you know more after the x-rays."

"Okay, thank you Dr Cooper." Tony replied.

. . . .

Eventually Hermione arrived back into her room as Tony sat down on her right side and Dr Cooper and another Doctor, an older and with black greying hair came in.

"Hello Hermione, how are you feeling?" Dr Cooper asked.

"Um, a bit better I guess." She said.

"Good. This is Dr Eaton, he's an orthopaedic specialist."

"Hello Hermione. I've had a look at your x-rays for your broken humerus and radius. The radius is healing quite nicely, and your current cast is certainly helping that along. However, your humerus, the upper arm bone is not healing as we'd expect it to. It is a pretty severe open fracture, and whilst it has closed by a small margin, it will not close all the way just with a cast. Unfortunately, you need surgery to fix it completely. Now, there are two options, internal fixation and external fixation. Internal is where we actually cut to the bone and fix it with a metal implement that stays there. External is where we just cut small holes into the bone to allow it to be pieced back together. I'll talk it over with your guardian and we'll set the surgery for 2 days from now, and we'll take x-rays every 12 hours to see if there has been an improvement before surgery. Don't be afraid to take pain medication, the humerus is a serious bone to break."

"So, I really have to have surgery?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, it sounds like you do. Sorry." Tony said as the doctors left the room and Mrs Weasley knocked on the door.

"Hermione, Professor McGonagall is here."

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley. Can you send Harry in as well?"

"Of course, dear." Mrs Weasley said and left the room.

"Right, the mysterious school." Tony said smiling as Professor McGonagall and Harry walked in.

"Miss Granger, I am glad to see that you're alright. I am terribly sorry for your loss."

"Thanks Professor." Hermione said in a small voice. "Shouldn't Pepper be here too?"

"Oh, do you want her to be?"

"It would be easier; she'd need to know as well." Hermione said.

"I'll go get her, Mr Stark." Harry said and ran off and returned soon afterwards with Pepper Potts.

"Right, this is a little complicated, but you were wondering about Hermione's schooling?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes, I could access her records for her primary school easily, her secondary school was a bit different, I couldn't even find out the name of the school." Tony admitted.

"It's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Wait, witchcraft and wizardry?" Tony asked, thinking it was some prank.

"Hermione is a witch, she's magical." Professor McGonagall said bluntly, and Tony Stark just sat there in total shock.

"This is some kind of joke, right?" Pepper asked.

Professor McGonagall pushed her square glasses up her nose and looked at the two. "No, this is no joke." She said softly and turned into a black and silver tabby cat right in front of their eyes.

"Okay, so you're telling me that magic exists. That you have a whole secret school, a secret society. Why?" Tony asked as Professor McGonagall changed back.

"You're American, correct? Have you ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Oh." Tony said.

"Didn't that happen like 300 years ago, though?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, there were witch burnings across the world, and although most of those poor people weren't magical, there are a few instances of magical people being killed because of their powers. And it is still happening. They may not be called witch burnings anymore, but there are people out there who are frightened of magic and what it can do. We are also stubborn people and we hate change! This secrecy has been our way of life for many centuries now, I don't think we can change that."

"Okay, so my daughter is magical, was Emma magical?"

"No, Hermione is what is called a muggle-born, both her parents are non-magical. Now, are you okay? You do believe what I'm telling you?"

"You turned into a cat right in front of me, that's proof right there." Tony said.

"Right, now let's talk about Hermione's schooling. As you are an American citizen, I'm assuming you'll be taking her back to America?"

"Um, I don't know, but everything I know is in America, so probably."

"Okay, well, here is where it becomes a bit tricky, as you would take Hermione with you to America, she would have to go to America, but if you stay in Great Britain, she could still attend Hogwarts."

"Oh, um, do you want to stay at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I've talked to Harry and he doesn't think I should, but you need to know the full story before you decide, and I need Professor McGonagall's opinion."

"Okay, truthfully, I hate boarding schools, I hate the limited holidays and that you're stuck there on weekends. I had a bad experience with my own Boarding school, and I don't want you to think I've forgotten you, like I did."

"There are a few non boarding school types out there, but they are not as prestigious. Every country has a handful of schools, but then there are the 11 main schools throughout the world and they are all Boarding Schools."

"Okay, I'll have to talk to Hermione about what she wants, has she also been doing her regular education, or do they teach maths and science at Hogwarts?" Tony asked.

"Hermione's mother and step-father asked the same; however, we didn't have any program at the time, and the governor's council don't see any need for one."

"Well, I think classes in the summer would work well for Hermione, but as much as I can tell, she was always ahead of her classmates anyway. If you decide on Hogwarts, we can discuss it later, or you could discuss it with a different school." Tony said. Now, what did you need to talk to Professor McGonagall about?"

"Um, is it okay if I do it in private first?"

"Sure thing, kiddo." Tony said and he and Pepper left the room.

Hermione waited for a minute before looking at her favourite Professor. "Professor, Harry wants me to go to that American school and leave Hogwarts."

"You do, Mr Potter?"

"I have my reasons." Harry insisted.

"Go on." She said sternly.

"Hermione has been injured or nearly killed 3 times in the last 2 years, and it because she's friends with me. I'm a danger magnet. She's the smartest person in our year, and yet after she graduates she's going to have a hard time getting a job because of all the bigotry in the world, add to the fact that Voldemort seems to be obsessed with me and that makes Hogwarts dangerous."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Harry does have certain points, you-know-who is an incurring problem, one that adults don't know how to deal with, let alone three teenagers. I know there is bigotry against muggle-borns, certainly with you Hermione. I do hope for a better future and I will fight for it, but I understand if you don't want to come back."

"Ilvermorny does sound like a good school, and it certainly doesn't have the danger or the bigotry that Hogwarts does, but I have friends at Hogwarts, and I can't abandon them. I also don't think it's my decision."

"Hermione, this is your chance to get out and have a good life at a good school that deserves your intellect and doesn't care what blood status you are." Harry said softly.

"I know Harry, but this isn't about the country or the school, this is about you. I'm your friend, and I'm not going to abandon you, if I can."

"If you can?"

"I need to tell Tony everything that has happened at Hogwarts, all the danger and the bigotry. He needs to know because I always lied to my mum and dad about how bad it was, I just…"

"I understand Hermione, I would like to be in the room when you tell him, if that's okay."

"Of course, you can, Professor, and you too Harry."

"Are you sure, I don't want you to get hurt again because of me." Harry asked.

"I don't want to abandon my first friend."

"Okay, it's your decision, but I can't agree with it when you could have a better life

"Mr Potter, I think we're ready. Can you please go get Mr Stark and Miss Potts."

"Sure thing." Harry said and left the room.

"I'm proud of you, Hermione. I know that you understand what he's talking about, and I'm secretly glad you don't want to leave. However, I am as worried for you as Mr Potter is."

"I'm worried as well, this is going to be a big change, even if he lets me return to Hogwarts. I lied to my parents about Hogwarts, I didn't even tell them about the Troll let alone that I was petrified for two months. I want to stop lying, and Tony seems really nice."

"He reminds me of you a lot." Professor McGonagall said softly.

"Hey guys, Harry said you wanted to talk to us?" Tony said after walking into the room.

"Hermione has something rather serious to decide with your help, but she wants to tell you her past years at Hogwarts."

"Oh, okay. Is it serious?" Tony asked as he sat down in one of the seats and Professor McGonagall conjured two more chairs.

"Okay, I can do this." Hermione said and took a deep breath and started. "You're my father and I want this relationship to start off truthfully. I lied to my mum and dad about Hogwarts because I thought they would stop me from going back if they ever found out the truth."

"Okay?" Tony said uncertainly.

"It's a long story."

"We've got time, Hermione." Pepper said softly.

"Okay. The story starts in the 70s, a man called Voldemort rose to power. Witches and wizards are just like people, there are good people, but there are also bad people, and Voldemort was one of the worst. He collected people called the Death Eaters to terrorise people, you didn't know who to trust. He hated non magical people and muggle-borns, like me. We have these three spells called the unforgiveables, because the use of any one is unforgiveable. The first is the imperius curse, which literally controls a person, anything the caster says, that person will do, and its hard to detect if a person is under the imperius curse or not. The next is the cruciatus curse, better known as the torture curse which can actually drive a person to insanity. Finally, the killing curse, which just kills a person. It was a bad time, full of fear and death. Many families were tortured and killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Until one little boy stopped him, but not for good. It was Halloween, 1981 and James and Lily Potter were hiding in Godric's Hollow, hiding because they knew Voldemort was after them. Eventually, even through impressive wards Voldemort found the young family and killed James and Lily, he then turned his wand on their son, Harry James Potter…"

"Wait, Harry Potter, as in your friend?" Tony said and looked to the kid.

"Yeah."

"Wow, I'm so sorry Harry, that must be horrible."

"I don't really remember them that much, sir. Go on, Hermione."

"He cast the killing curse on Harry who was 15 months old at the time, but for some reason that nobody knows, the curse rebounded and hit Voldemort instead. Harry was left with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead and dropped off to his aunt Petunia's house, who hates him by the way."

"He's a child, how could she hate him?" Pepper asked in shock.

"They hate magic, they think it's unnatural, so they always tried to stop me from becoming magical, they weren't very nice, but there's nowhere else I could go." Harry told them.

"But surely someone could take him in?" Tony asked.

"There is said to be powerful wards around the house that prevent anyone harming him, for instance Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but does not prevent harm coming from the inhabitants. It only works with Harry's blood relatives. I want him out of there as well, but I can't go against Dumbledore."

"Okay, so fast forward a few years and I was about to start Hogwarts for the first time. I was very excited, I didn't have any friends in primary school, so I was excited to go to a new school this time. We take a train to the school and it was there that I met Harry and Ron, although we wouldn't be friends for a couple of months yet. It was Halloween, and I had no friends and Ron had just insulted me for helping him learn a new spell, it was the last straw and I spent the afternoon in one of the bathrooms crying. Anyway, that night someone let a 12-foot mountain troll into the castle. Anyway, Harry dragged Ron to come find me because I didn't know, except the troll walked into the very bathroom I was in. It was a scary few minutes, but Harry and Ron saved me. Harry actually jumped on the back of the troll and Ron used the same spell we fought over to lift its club above its head and knock it out. Then, the professors came, and I lied for the boys and then we became friends."

"Wait, you lied? You didn't go find the troll?"

"No, Professor, sorry. I was just in the bathroom crying about missing home and all the bullies, when it walked in. Harry and Ron just wanted to warn me, they thought the Troll was in the dungeons."

"So, you nearly died but two 11-year-old boys saved you? Well, you were right I would have wanted to take you out of the school too." Tony admitted.

"That's not it." Hermione admitted sheepishly.

"Of course not." Tony sighed softly.

"Um, so the year continued pretty slowly apart from a few things, like Hagrid hatching a dragon, Harry's first Quidditch match going a bit awry, me setting fire to one of my Professors…"

"You set one of your Professors on fire? Please tell me it was a bad one."

"He was innocent at the time, but he isn't very nice. Eventually the year started to end, but then we became convinced that Voldemort's disembodied spirit was after the Philosopher's stone…"

"What is the philosophers stone?" Pepper asked.

"It's a small stone that Nicolas Flamel invented, it can turn any metal into gold and produce the elixir of life, meaning the drinker will be immortal. And if Voldemort got his hands on it, he would be back to his usual strength, and that would be bad. So, we told one of the Professors, but they didn't believe us, so we went down ourselves to protect the stone. There were a few challenges, like a plant that kills you, we had to fly and get an old key, we had to play wizards chess with us as the pieces, Ron was hurt during that one, then Harry and I went on and walked past a troll that had already been killed, this one was even bigger than the one before and finally a potion riddle which I figured out and Harry went through. Turns out one of our Professor's, Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort and was trying to steal the stone that night.

"So, this man is one of the worst wizards in your history, and he was teaching at your school for an entire year?" Tony asked.

"Um, yeah?"

"Holy f…"

"Tony!" Pepper said.

"Harry was pretty badly injured, and I had some bad wounds myself, but we survived."

"What were the adults doing during this?"

"Well, the Headmaster was sent a fake letter which told him he needed to go to London immediately, and he flew there on broom, but I'm wondering if it was so urgent, why didn't he use the floo or apparate, or use his phoenix?"

"Okay?"

"Transportation that would have gotten him there pretty much instantaneously, flying would have taken up to 3 hours, probably more."

"Okay, so that was the end of the year, right? You went home and what did you tell your parents?"

"Nothing."

"You told them nothing."

"I thought they would have taken me out of the school." Hermione admitted. "I had never had friends before Hogwarts, and whilst Ron is a bit…well not the best friend, Harry is. He's important to me, and I didn't want to leave him."

"So why are you telling me? Because honestly I'm having the same reaction."

"Because you need to know so you can decide whether I go back to Hogwarts or go somewhere else. Harry thinks it's too dangerous and wants me to go to Ilvermorny."

"Okay, look this sounds bad so far, and I understand not wanting you to return, but there's something else, right?"

"Magical Britain is very bigoted against people like me." Hermione admitted.

"What do you mean people like you?"

"People with muggle parents? I get called names, and Voldemort's whole thing is attacking people like me, maybe that will change with Voldemort's death, but I'm starting to doubt it."

"Okay, that does sound bad, and I can see Harry not wanting that for you, or the danger. Is it the whole society?"

"No, there are far more muggle-borns and half-bloods than pure-bloods, they are around 10%..."

"Okay, so 10% of the population fights, and the other 90% doesn't fight back?"

"Yeah, that's about it."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why don't the others fight back? They were killing people, right? If they killed someone I loved, I'd fight back."

"There's also the fact that the pure-bloods have most of the control of our government, the Wizengamot. And there was the Order of the Phoenix, but there weren't many members and they started getting killed off to show what would happen if you opposed them."

"So, the others noticed and just didn't fight back?"

"Yes, the last war was an annihilation, not only adults were killed, they killed a lot of children as well. We only have 49 students in our year, the year before there was 60. The years were slowly declining in the number of students during the war years, before the first war there was upwards of 150-200. This number has been declining since the 70's when the first war began. You can see just how many were killed." Hermione said softly.

"Holy Shit. Could you have been killed?" Tony asked.

"They have killed muggle-born children and their parents before, so yes, they could have found Hermione somehow."

"Okay, I think I'm ready to hear about your second year?" Tony said softly.

"Well it starts on Halloween of that year. Halloween is basically cursed for Harry something always happens on that day for him. Harry started hearing voices in the walls…"

"Wait…"

"There's a reason why, it's part of the story." Harry promised.

"Okay, continue."

"Neither Ron nor I heard anything like that, which made us worried for Harry. Then we came upon a section of the castle that was flooded, and then we turned and saw a message written on the walls in blood. 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware.'"

"Written in blood?" Pepper said aghast.

"Yeah, it was a crazy year. Anyway, we turned again and saw the caretakers cat just lying there, we thought she was dead, but it turns out she was just petrified. Anyway, we were at the scene of the crime and suddenly, everyone was there and accusing us of doing it. Then I asked one of my professors about the Chamber of Secrets. Hogwarts was founded by four people, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. They wanted a space where they could teach children about their magic as it had been dependent on parents before that time, which meant muggle-borns would have never known about their magic. They all agreed to the school, except one part. Not all of them agreed they should teach muggle-born students. Salazar Slytherin was said to have hated non magical people and their magical children. So, he made the chamber of secrets and hid within it a monster, which could only be controlled by Salazar Slytherin and his heirs to take out those he deemed unworthy of learning magic. No one has ever found the chamber of secrets, it was thought to be a simple myth, but clearly something was happening."

"I don't even know what to say." Tony admitted.

"Muggle-borns kept getting petrified throughout the year…"

"Wait, is there a way to un-petrify someone, and what do you mean petrified." Pepper asked Hermione.

"It's similar to a coma, except you're literally stuck in the position you were petrified in, and yes there is a cure. There's a potion that can be made using mandrake leaves, but the school's mandrakes weren't mature enough."

"So these students were stuck like this for months?" Pepper clarified.

"Yeah, it's pretty horrible." Hermione said. "So, cut forward a few months and our new Defence teacher was teaching us how to duel, which is still done in the wizarding world for some stupid reason. Harry was duelling Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin students who hates muggle-borns. Anyway, Malfoy cast a snake at Harry, and Harry turned to it and talked to the snake…"

"Magical people can do that?" Tony asked.

"Not all of them, it's an incredibly rare gift, a gift that Salazar Slytherin was said to have as well. So, people think Harry set the snake on another student, although Harry says that he was telling the snake not to, but we can't understand it, it just sounds like hissing to us…"

"So, Harry can understand what the hissing means, and he was hearing voices, meaning the monster is probably a snake, right?" Tony said and Hermione stared at him.

"It's funny that you can figure that out, but all the Professors at the school can't for some reason." Hermione said bluntly.

"Holy shit, I'm right?"

"Yeah." Hermione nodded.

"Your professors are idiots?" Tony stated. "Sorry, Professor McGonagall." He said and she shook her head and laughed.

"Oh, that's not it. It's common knowledge that Slytherin loved snakes, his emblem is a snake, he can talk to them. How nobody figured it out still astounds me." Hermione replied. "Pretty much the entire school then turned on Harry and started calling him this Dark Lord, and the heir of Slytherin."

"Jeez, poor kid."

"So, I decided it was time to get some answers." Hermione said boldly.

"Of course, you did, you clearly can't leave it to the adults because they can't do jack shit." Tony said grumpily. "Again, sorry Professor."

"My plan was to make Polyjuice potion, which literally turns you into someone else for up to an hour. I wanted to go as several Slytherin students and talk to Malfoy, who was our biggest target. It's a very advanced potion, one not taught until NEWTs."

"YOU MADE POLYJUICE?" McGonagall yelled.

"NEWTS?" Pepper asked.

"Seventh year exams, and yes Professor, we needed to do something, and you have to admit, Malfoy does seem suspicious." Hermione clarified. "It took a month to brew and several complex ingredients, some of which I stole from our potions professor, but I didn't care because that man is a bully. I brewed it in the girl's bathroom, which no one goes it because it's haunted by Moaning Myrtle."

"Ghosts are real?"

"Yeah, most of them are really nice and friendly, but there are also evil ghosts as well. So, Harry and Ron were going to turn into Malfoy's bodyguards, or should I say friends, and I was going to turn into Millicent Bulstrode, the student I fought during the duels, and managed to get a hair of her. Harry's and Ron's worked out fine, but they found nothing new. My hair turned out to be cat hair, and it is not advised to use an animal hair. I turned into a giant cat/human hybrid. I had to go into the hospital wing for a month and lie about how it happened."

"And she believed you?" Tony asked in disbelief.

"Uh, probably not, she's good with that though." Hermione replied.

"Hermione Granger, that's why you were a cat? I thought you were attempting an animagus transformation. You actually made the Polyjuice potion and it went well, apart from the cat hair?"

"Yeah, that's not to say I don't want to be an animagus, but I thought it might be too advanced for me."

"Okay, so what happened next?" Tony asked.

"Well more people kept getting petrified and someone or something was leaving messages in blood, so I started investigating…"

Tony groaned softly and ran his hands through his hands. "You were petrified, weren't you?" He asked angrily.

"Yeah. I found out that the monster was a basilisk, basically a giant snake that can kill you just by looking at you. It was using the pipes around Hogwarts to travel. So, I figured that everyone who had been petrified had seen the reflection of the Basilisk, because just staring straight at the eyes would kill you. So, I used a mirror and alerted an older muggle-born, I was going to go to the Headmaster and tell him I figured it out, I used the mirror to see around the corners in case the snake was there, and well, it was. I was petrified for around 2 months."

"Two months? Let me guess, if your parents were magical, they would have made the school cure you quicker?" Tony asked.

"That's what Harry and I think."

"I would complain to the school to get you cured quicker as well, if I knew about it." Tony admitted. "What happened to the giant snake?"

"Harry killed it, but we're jumping too far ahead. Ron's little sister Ginny was taken into the Chamber, another note was written in blood saying, "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever." As you can imagine, Harry's has something that I like to call his saving people thing, so he found the origins of the chamber, with Ron and he went down with our DADA professor who was a fake. They were in the Chamber when the teacher, grabbed Ron's wand and said that they would forget everything, and he would make up some story about he was too late to save Ginny and the boys minds went seeing her mangled body."

"Holy Shit."

"Ron's wand was broken, so went Lockhart tried to cast the obliviate spell onto Harry, it backfired. He is now permanently in St Mungo's Hospital for brain damage. The spell did cause damage to the tunnel, though, it caved in right between Ron and Harry, so Harry had to go on alone, with nothing but his wand. He eventually found Ginny, but there was also someone else there, his name was Tom Marvolo Riddle…"

"Who?" Tony asked.

"I'm getting to it. Basically someone, who we suspect is Lucius Malfoy, planted a diary in Ginny's school books, this diary talked back when Ginny wrote in it, and so she found herself a friend and confided in the diary, who once belonged to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Basically, the diary was making her do all this stuff, it made her open the chamber of secrets, it made her control the snake. Whilst she gave more and more of her heart into the diary, Tom Marvolo Riddle was possessing her and eventually, Tom would come back to life, and Ginny would die. Tom then had a chat with Harry where he revealed, that Tom Riddle was his birth name, but he had another name. He wrote his name, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and it then became another name, an anagram. It became 'I am Lord Voldemort.'

"So Voldemort, again?"

"Yeah, he stole Harry's wand and then called forth the Basilisk. Harry says it was about 60 feet long, and before you ask, Harry is not the type to lie about that. Harry tried to wake Ginny, but there was nothing he could do. The basilisk started chasing him, and Harry had to keep his eyes closed, until Fawkes flew in and gave him the sorting hat and plucked the snake's eyes out…"

"Fawkes?"

"Dumbledore's bird, it's a Phoenix, you know the mythical ones, where when hey die, they are reborn?"

"They're real?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, and he's important to this story. Harry managed to pull a sword from the hat, and that was the only weapon he had and managed to stab the basilisk through the head, but the basilisk managed to bite him when he did that. Basilisk venom is very potent and would kill him in a few minutes. So, Harry knew that even though he had killed the Basilisk, Voldemort was still there, so he took the diary and the basilisk fang and stabbed the diary which 'killed' Voldemort, and then Ginny woke up. Harry knew he was dying, and then he saw Fawkes crying into his wound…"

"What would that do?"

"Phoenixes have healing powers in their tears, it's the only antidote to Basilisk venom. Harry didn't know this, either, he really thought he was going to die."

"Wow. Harry, you certainly are very brave." Tony said and Harry blushed.

"Well, the next few nights, they Mandrakes matured and everyone who was petrified was restored, and exams were cancelled as a treat, except for those in fifth and seventh years. Those are the big important exam years."

"Hermione, thank you for telling me this, I know it must have been hard and that you don't know what I'll say or if I'll take you away from your best friend. I honestly do want to take you somewhere else, but I can't do that to you or Harry. I may not like certain situations, but I can't just take you to America and forget about everything else. You can return to Hogwarts, I'll find us a house somewhere in Britain. Where do you live, Harry?"

"Um Little Whinging, Surrey."

"Okay, I'll try and get as close as I can. Certainly, somewhere in Surrey."

"Thank you, sir."

"Harry, please, it's Tony."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony left the room so hopefully Hermione could rest, and he looked at the retreating figure of Professor McGonagall. "Professor McGonagall." He called and ran after her.

"Yes?"

"Um, I know this is kind of a long shot, but I was wondering if I could take Harry for the Christmas holidays? I promise I'll be a total guardian, and responsible and respectful and other grown up words." He promised and Minerva smirked.

"You remind me of Harry's father, it's not up to me, but I feel you might be able to get permission from Dumbledore. He spends part of his summers at his guardian's house, they have very powerful wards there that stop people from hurting Harry; however, it does not prevent abuse from within. The Weasley's have already claimed him for the rest of the summer, and he normally stays at Hogwarts for Christmas, so I don't see how he can say no."

"Can you arrange a meeting with him?" Tony asked.

"I'll go arrange one for you, I'll send you the information and collect you when it's time." Minerva said.

"Thank you. Shall we go check if Hermione's managed to sleep, yet?"

"I doubt it, but I have something if she hasn't." They went back into the room and saw Hermione resting her head on the arm of the chair talking to Harry softly.

"Hey guys, you okay Hermione?" Tony asked.

"Um yeah, a bit tired but I can't sleep for some reason." She replied.

"Miss Granger, I have some, er… Is your last name Granger, shouldn't it be Stark?" She asked.

"What would you prefer Hermione?" Tony asked.

"Granger is my step-dad's last name." Hermione said slowly.

"Did he adopt you?" Minerva asked.

"No, but dad said I was his kid, so they changed the name."

"I would have not signed off on him adopting you, sorry. But you were my only child and I still wanted you in my life. So, technically the name is illegal, you can still go by it if you want, or your mother's maiden name."

"Can I be Hermione Stark? I'm not ready to call you dad, but I like the name, and you're right, Granger is illegal."

"Well then, congratulations Miss Stark, I'll update the Hogwarts records. Now, I have seen your records and it says you have to have surgery, so I bought along some potions to help heal you. This is your basic healing potion; you should take it twice a day until you're fully better. This is a mild form of skele-gro which will not vanish the bone, but encourage the healing of the bone, so it will join together slowly so you don't have to have surgery. I have a mild pain relief potion, but it should not be mixed with muggle pain relief. I also have a dreamless sleep potion for you, if you need it."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Why haven't I cried yet?" Hermione whispered softly, so much that they barely heard her."

"Miss Stark, I, um…"

"Hermione, everyone grieves differently, do you know about the 5 stages of grief?"

"Um, I've heard of it, but I don't know step by step."

"That's okay, not everyone goes through every stage, and most people don't do it in a particular order. What happened was a shock to everyone, and you were only told today. The first stage is shock and denial, it's like your numb to the pain, that won't always be the case, but it explains why you haven't cried yet."

"Are you sure it isn't because I'm damaged or…"

"Hermione, you are not broken or damaged, the shock will go, and it will hit you. I'm sorry to say that grief is hard to get through, it hurts a lot, more than many things you've ever gone through, and I will be right here for you when that happens. I don't know when you'll stop feeling numb and in shock, but it will happen eventually, it might be tomorrow, or next week, but you're not damaged because you aren't crying over their loss just yet. And, I'll tell you something else, I thought the same thing when my parents died. It's not easy to get through, but as time goes on it'll get easier and easier. You still remember them, and it can still hurt, but it isn't as painful."

"Thanks Tony, that means a lot."

"Okay, now why don't you take that dream potion and go to sleep. You're clearly tired. I'll go to your home and get some clothes as your suitcase was ruined, I'll be back later, and I'll be just down the hall."

"In the parent room?"

"Yeah, but I do need to get a few things, like your clothes"

"Okay. I, um, thank you."

"It's okay, now get some rest."

"Pain potion first, then the healing one and then dreamless sleep one." McGonagall told her, handing her each one and watching as she downed them.

"Thank you, Professor." She said and got into her hospital bed and pulled the covers up.

"Come on, Harry. I think the Weasley's are getting antsy."

"Okay, Tony. Can I come back tomorrow?"

"If Mr and Mrs Weasley say you can."

"Okay, I'll ask them."

"Right, let's leave Hermione to her sleep." Tony said and walked out into the waiting room with Harry.

"Hi, Mrs Weasley. Hermione's asleep now." Tony said.

"Oh, good. She doesn't have to have any muggle, um."

"Sugary." Arthur provided, and Tony looked at the man and tried not to laugh

"The Doctors are keeping an eye on it, but Professor McGonagall gave her some potions that will make it, so she doesn't have to have surgery. She should be good to go within a week, possibly sooner."

"Oh good, the poor dear. I think we'll go now. You ready, Harry."

"Yes, Mrs Weasley. Are you dropping me off at the Dursley's or…"? He asked.

"No dear, you'll be staying with us until our trip to Egypt and then you'll have to go back to your Aunt' house." Mrs Weasley said and the Weasley's and Harry left the hospital.

"For being a first-time father, you're doing really well." Minerva said as she watched the Weasley's leave.

"I'm being entirely too responsible." Tony joked and shuddered.

McGonagall chuckled. "If you went to Hogwarts and were a few years younger, I think you would have been the fifth member of the Marauder's. I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting the Weasley twins."

"Um, I need to get into Hermione's house and get a few things, but they keys were on the plane and I'm not sure they're salvageable."

"Oh, right. Well, I'll go with you. It's not too far from here, do you have transport?"

"Wait a minute." He said and pulled out a cell phone "Happy?" he asked.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need a driver to go to Hermione's address, and someone to watch over Hermione whilst I'm gone."

"I can guard your daughter, sir. I'll send Patrick to drive you."

"Thank you." He said and met up with Happy in the Hospital parking. "Right, I want you to be in the waiting room, just watching her door. If a doctor or nurse goes in, you do too. I know it's too much, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Understood, sir."

Tony and Professor McGonagall were then driven to Hermione's house, and Patrick waited in the car. Professor McGonagall opened the door and flicked on the light. "It looks so normal, like everyone's asleep."

"Yeah, I don't know if she'll want to come here."

"What will you do?"

"It's in her name now, so I'll let her decide when she's ready."

"What do you need to get?"

"Just some clothes, she only has her hospital gown. I don't know what happened to her, um, wand. I'm hoping she didn't take it. Also, maybe photos of her parents."

Tony and McGonagall spread out as Tony went into his daughter's bedroom and picked out most of her clothes, as he didn't know what she would want. He found her wand in her bedside table drawer. He then went into the living room and selected most of the photos.

"Did you find her school stuff?" McGonagall asked.

"No, where would it be? I did find her wand though."

"I'll go have a look in her bedroom. She might have them charmed or something." Professor McGonagall said and went around her bedroom and eventually found her trunk under the bed with a light notice-me-not charm around it. She pulled it out to where Tony was waiting and put everything they collected in the trunk and made it lighter.

"Thank you for everything, Professor."

"Your Welcome, Mr Stark."

. . . .

"Happy, how's she been?" Tony asked.

"Slept the entire time you were gone."

"Good, this is all of her stuff for now. We don't have any large residences in this area, do we?"

"None that I can think of." Happy replied.

"JARVIS?"

"Any of the larger residential buildings you own in Britain is rented out by people. We could, of course, kick them out as we are due. However, I'd think you'd find that none of these properties are what you are after. I think you should build something, sir." Jarvis said.

"Ideas?"

"There's a large house with an even larger plot of land and series of outbuildings in the area of Egham. The buildings are very old and complete renovations are encouraged, so you could demolish the house and build your own."

"Interesting idea, but where would we stay in the meantime?" Tony asked.

"It has a series of outbuildings that are more habitable than the main house that you could easily stay in until the house is demolished, and you've built your own."

"Couldn't we renovate? Why are you saying demolish?"

"Because sir, it is not your style at all. I think you could build an amazing new house with a lab and everything you would want."

"Intriguing, show me the plans for this house."

"All the details are on your laptop, sir."

"Thank you, Jarvis. Anything else?"

"The house is in the same region where Harry Potter lives."

"Oh, you've done that on purpose."

"Of course, sir. I want to help him as much as you do."

. . . .

"Hey, good morning." Tony said quietly.

"Morning." Hermione replied softly.

"Did your potion help?"

"Yeah, I got a good sleep."

"Good, now are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

"Good. What do you eat, because hospital food frankly disgusts me, so I'll get you anything?"

"Um, French toast and orange juice." She said softly.

Tony smiled. "Got it."

"I'll get it, Tony." Pepper said.

"Thanks Pep. So, I know all about your time at Hogwarts, but what did you like to do at home?"

"Well, I love reading. I honestly have way too many books. I used to like creating things when I was younger, I kinda created this bot that followed me everywhere when I was about eight. I don't really remember what happened to it, but I couldn't find it and my parents didn't like it, so I didn't create another. Whenever I was over my grandma's house, I rode her horses. I think they're so beautiful and majestic creatures and I loved this one Grandma had, but she had to sell them all shortly before she died."

"Grandma on which side?"

"My mum's side, I didn't really like my dad's parents. I guess I'll never meet yours."

"Heard about that, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry. I kinda looked you up last night when you were talking with Professor McGonagall. Did you really build a circuit board at four?"

"Did you really build an AI robot at eight?" Tony asked back.

"Touché." Hermione said.

"I'll help you build another; you know. I've built quite a few. You've already met JARVIS. There's DUM-E and DUM-U, both aren't as smart as JARVIS, but they're useful. I'll have to introduce you to my lab."

"I'm not good at that stuff anymore, I mean I was ahead of all my mundane classes by a lot, but I haven't practised in two years."

"That's okay, do you want to still do these subjects?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll find you a tutor, and we'll send stuff to your boarding school."

"You said you hated boarding schools, why?"

"Because I was sent to one by my father."

"You didn't enjoy it?" she asked.

"I certainly enjoyed the thorough science department, my mother didn't want me to go, but my father was happy to be rid of me frankly. I don't want you to think I want to be rid of you, and boarding school doesn't leave a lot of time to spend together."

"I would never hold it against you, and although I agree the boarding school is a bit much, I still like Hogwarts."

"Did you want to help design our new house?"

"Why a new house?"

"Well, because I haven't really got anywhere that's suitable for us to call our home. Jarvis found an old house with plenty of land that I've made an offer on, but the house is derelict and either needs a renovation or demolishing. So, we can make a brand-new house exactly how we want it."

"Cool, what are you gonna have in it?"

"Well, part of my job is creating things for my company to sell, right? Well, I need a large lab with lots of equipment to do that safely in."

"Okay, so that would probably be the biggest part of the house and we'd build everything else around that. Have you got an architect?"

"Not yet, do you know one?" Tony joked and Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Of course not." She said as Pepper walked in with a large bag.

"Two servings of French toast, one each and an orange juice each."

"Thank you, Pepper." Hermione said.

"You staying?" Tony asked.

"Sure." She said and handed the takeaway box to Hermione then one to Tony.

"Have you eaten?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I had room service this morning."

"Why didn't you have room service?" Hermione asked Tony.

"I stayed here, in the parent's room."

"Oh." Hermione said blushing. "I forgot you told me that."

"Dig in, kid. Now, how big do you want your room?" Tony asked.

"Um, I don't know, medium size?"

"Uh-huh. Now, don't fight me if I ignore that." Tony said and Pepper laughed.

"Have you even bought the place?" Pepper asked.

"I have an offer in, but I kinda want this place for more than just the lovely land and the fact I'll get to build what I want."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"It's like a fifteen-minute walk away from Harry's house." Tony said and Hermione smiled.

"You're good." She said and he chuckled.

They ate their breakfast in relative silence until a nurse collected Hermione for another x-ray, then Tony went outside to make a call.

. . . .

"Rhodey."

"Tony, what's up."

"Remember that daughter I told you about all those years ago?"

"Hermione, yeah I remember her. Her parents finally allow you to see her."

"No, they're dead."

"Shit, you have full custody?"

"Yeah, she's beautiful and scary smart, probably smarter than me." Tony said and Rhodey laughed.

"I'm coming, where are you guys."

"England, I'll have Jarvis send you all the information. When you decide to come, I'll have a Stark plane take you here." Tony said.

"How is she?"

"She's sad, but she's still talking with me and everything."

"Are you staying in England?"

"Partly, her mother sent her to this Boarding school, and she has friends there and wants to go back, and I agreed just because of her friends. So, I'll be here during the holidays, but I'll come back during the year."

"Got it, I'm anxious to meet her. I'll be there in the morning." Rhodey said and Tony nodded into his phone.

"Thank you Rhodey."

. . . .

"Rhodey, you got in fast."

"Your planes are fast, where's Hermione?"

"They took her for another x-ray, but it looks like she doesn't have to have surgery, so that's good." Tony said.

"So, are you ready to be a fulltime parent?"

"Not really, but she's quite mature so I think that will be a help."

"Mature?"

"Must be from her mother's side, she got the genius thing from me." Tony said and Rhodey laughed.

"Really?"

"She made an AI bot at age eight, she didn't know what happened to it though?"

"You think its her parents, trying to stop her from being like you?"

"Maybe, they certainly didn't want me in her life, even phone calls and photos were rare, and I could tell they didn't want to even do that. They refused when I wanted more as well, it would have ended up in the courts, and that would be no way to announce her to the world."

"Is she still Granger?"

"No, that was her step-dads last name which was illegal. She took her real last name back, Hermione Stark."

"Good, I can't wait to meet her?"

"Well, there she is." Tony said as Hermione walked up with the same nurse who was walking beside her and lead her back to her bed. Tony entered with Rhodey and smiled at Hermione. "Hermione, this is my best friend Colonel James Rhodes, we call him Rhodey."

"It's so nice to meet you, Hermione. Your dad has told me so much about you over the years."

"It's really nice to meet you too, Colonel Rhodes."

"Your dad says your smarter than him." Rhodey laughed.

"Probably in some area, but he's always gonna be the lead genius at research and development, I made one robot."

"Your still young, I think you're gonna blow everyone away when it's your turn. And you dad tells you that you, at least, are level-headed. Might make things easier when you take over at SI."

"My mum was always the calm and sensible one, even in the middle of a crisis she never lost her head."

"So Tony was right, you have the smarts from him and the sensibility from your mum. I'm sorry about her and your stepdad by the way, it must have been terrifying."

"It was pretty scary, I just braced, and I couldn't see them at all. I just hoped they found each other in the end." Hermione said softly and Tony sat next to her on the bed.

"Heck, that sounds horrible, I'm so sorry Hermione."

"Thanks." She replied and smiled softly as Pepper entered the room.

"Ah, Rhodey, I wondered when you'd be coming."

"Pepper, always good to see you." Rhodey said and hugged her quickly.

"You feeling better, Hermione?"

"Yeah, I just got back from another x-ray, I'll have a whole collection after this." She joked softly and Tony chuckled.

"Right, lunch?" Pepper asked.

"Um, maybe a salad, I'm not that hungry." Hermione said.

"We'll get it, you guys stay here." Tony said and he and Rhodey walked out of the room

"Oh, I like her. She's calm and collected, but she's joking at a time like this." Rhodey said.

"Yeah, sometimes I feel she's too good to be my daughter. I'm really lucky." Tony admitted.


End file.
